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#FlaPanthers Rough Up #Blackhawks

By Bill Whitehead

SUNRISE — In a battle of first-place teams Friday night at BB&T Center, the Florida Panthers, atop the Atlantic Division by a single point before the puck dropped, decided on an interesting approach in facing the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.

They decided to get physical. “Let’s get physical” ala Olivia Newton-John. The “Pow!”, “Bam!” and “Zow!” of the old Batman series from the 1960s starring the incredibly great, talented Adam West.

A 4-0 thorough whipping of Chicago later, spurred on by a pair of goals by the defense, 27 saves by Roberto Luongo, strong play on all four lines and a complete team effort, and the Florida Panthers (27-15-5) suddenly don’t look like the team that lost to a mediocre Edmonton club on Monday.

Much of it came from the physical nature of Florida, who will never be mistaken for the punishing L.A. Kings, but who can bring the lumber and lay the wood when they need to.

Such as defenseman Erik Gudbranson’s smash of Finnish forward Teuvo Teravainen in the second and oversleeping left winger Richard Panik in the third. Plus Alex Petrovic’s bout with edgy Blackhawk Andrew Desjardins.

Florida outhit and bruised the Blackhawks 27-18, including a game-high five each by Gudbranson and Petrovic.

“Yeah, that (Gudranson hit) was a good hit, that was a good hit,” said Shawn Thornton, whose blind backhander in the third period nearly beat Chicago’s Scott Darling for a goal that would surely have brought the house down.

“Petro stepping up. We’re not an overly physical team, but we genuinely really like each other in this locker room and we have each other’s back. That stuff’s never been a concern in here, win or lose.”

After his post-game treatment, I caught Gudbranson, who ranked his hit right up there with his blow on Taylor Hall in Edmonton in terms of being his season’s best. As Teravainen entered the offensive end with the puck from the right side in front of Chicago’s bench, Gudbranson leveled the 5-foot-11 No. 86, who went head over heels covered in a swirl of curvy 8s and 6s on his white sweater.

“That’s kind of what I mold my game after,” said Gudbranson when I made the reference to the Kings. “I really enjoy hitting, almost as much as scoring, and I haven’t done much of that. I make my name known that way.

“The ref came up to me afterward and said it was absolutely textbook. I got him through the shoulders, and his head was down and I caught him off-guard. (That hit) or Hall right now. The Hall one was definitely harder. This one was a little more exciting to see him flying through the air.

“We’ve got a lot of skill on this team, but I don’t think at any point we’ve let ourselves get pushed around. If the game gets physical, that’s fine. That’s hockey, and guys are ready to step up.”

Even Luongo joined the fray in the second, roughing Desjardins after the Blackhawks’ left winger ventured into the crease following Luongo’s 14th save.

“There was a little bit of a spear after the whistle and I wasn’t too happy about it,” said Luongo, who authored his 72nd career shutout. “That’s stuff that happens during the game. I really don’t want to go down 4-on-4 in that situation, but I was a little upset with myself there and lost control.”

It’s a skill game at times, but on a night when Florida did almost everything right, was clearly by far the better team through 60 minutes and caught the champs on the second game of a back-to-back, the Panthers brought the hits and let the Blackhawks know they were there.

Old-time hockey style.

**Follow Bill on Twitter @BillWhiteheadFL and in newspapers at TCPalm.com

Fully credentialed media working for Scripps newspapers in FL for 18 years. Have covered the NHL and NASCAR beat, MLB, college football, NFL and more prep sports than imaginable. But now it's, well, "Mostly Panthers Hockey." Now in my ninth season covering the Florida Panthers. Also a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA). Earned an M.A. in English from the University of Central Florida in 1995. Follow on Twitter@BillWhiteheadFL